My inspiration for this record of my days:

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less” -Anna Quindlen

Monday, June 27, 2011

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Simon asks me every day: “Da baby come out your tummy today?” And every day I have to answer “Not today, buddy.” It’s going to be a long 3 months of waiting!

Yesterday he was on my bed rubbing my tummy and talking about all the things he will do to help when the baby comes out. He will hold it, and hug it, and bring mommy diapers. Those ideas all came from my coaching.

He came up with one idea all on his own. “When da baby comes out,” he said with an air of importance, “I give it fwee dollars.” (Translation $3.) I asked, “You think the baby will need three dollars, huh?” He answered confidently, “Ya. And diapers, and binkies, and blankies.”

Sounds like Simon knows just what his little brother will need. I’m glad he’s planning ahead!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

This is a big birthday for Savannah! She turned 12, which means she gets to go to Young Women’s at church. That includes weekly activities and girls camp this summer! She also gets to wear make-up, and takes on the responsibility of managing her own yearly clothing budget.

To celebrate the big step, she got to have a sleep-over party. That’s a big deal, because we don’t do sleepovers… ever!

The girls had fun with a snowball fight (ordered from Bahama Bucks) and water balloons. They stayed up late and watched a movie, and spent some time just hanging out and having fun.

Savannah is such a great girl. When she was a toddler, I wished that I had given her the middle name of Joy, because she had such a happy disposition. She still does.

She always notices when I am having a hard time, and is quick to offer to help.

She is FUNNY! Her sense of humor keeps us all laughing. I often hear her and Rebecca in their room giggling long after they should be asleep!

She is really smart. I’m not sure she realizes how smart she really is.

Besides just natural brains, she is also a high achiever. She always tries her very best on whatever she does. In some of her classes she earned higher than 100%!

She loves to learn new things, and has a variety of interests. She makes rolls from scratch, takes really artistic photos, excels at piano lessons, and has a list of other things she’d like to learn.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Jonah had promised me that he would stay 5 forever… but it was a promise he just couldn’t keep.

He turned 6 on May 21st, and planned a super fun Halloween-themed party to celebrate!

All the guests came in costumes. We had pizza and a jack-o-lantern cake, and then everyone went Trick-or-Treating. He got a Lego watch (which he’s been wanting for months), a glow in the dark doodle pad, and lots of other cool stuff.

Some things we love about Jonah at this age:

He is super smart. He reads his chapter books in his bed at night, and tells me what happened in the book the next morning.

He’s crafty. He spends lots of time making cards and pictures for all of us. Many of them are stuck to the walls around the house with duct tape.

He’s a good big brother. He and Simon can spend hours outside together jumping on the trampoline or playing in the sandbox.

He’s very loving. He likes to tell us that he loves us frequently, and gives really good hugs when I ask him.